


Dewdrops

by moonlit_wings



Category: Strange Magic (2015)
Genre: 500 words, Autumn, Clothing, Fae & Fairies, Fairies, Fashion & Couture, Gen, Goblins, Griselda is a fashion icon, Hats, Party, Post-Canon, Post-Movie(s), Short & Sweet, Sparkles, Wordcount: 100-500, Wordcount: 500-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-20 23:29:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12444294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlit_wings/pseuds/moonlit_wings
Summary: The Fairy Kingdom knew goblins didn't tend to wear clothes. They didn't expect anyone from the Dark Forest to befashionable. Griselda proved them wrong.





	Dewdrops

There was always a hush and a lot of staring when the Bog King and his retinue of goblins entered a fairy ball. It had gotten briefer as the Fairy Kingdom and Dark Forest got used to one another. This time the hush ended almost immediately, in a flurry of whispers, but the staring intensified. For once, the attention wasn't focused on Bog – but on his mother, Griselda.

"What is she _wearing_?"

Dawn had seen Griselda's dress a few weeks before the ball and been politely complimentary, but hadn't, at the time, thought it was anything special.

The golden brown oak leaves set off Griselda's auburn hair. There was a short train to demonstrate the leaves' natural shape, not so long that it made Griselda appear even shorter and the dress oversized. There were sleeves, in deference to the cooling weather, and a daringly low slit at the front of the neckline, but no raised collar to fan out behind her head.

It was a fairly plain, respectable dress, for an aging widow and former Head of State to wear while meeting with foreign dignitaries.

Since she'd seen it last, the dress had been transformed, and now Dawn _gushed_.

"Wow, Griselda, you look so glamourous!"

She sparkled with dew. Clear, iridescent droplets were scattered artfully over Griselda's dress, nestled in the branching veins of the oak leaves as though naturally collected. There were even a few on the acorn cap that she wore at a jaunty angle over one of her horn stumps.

Dewdrops weren't a trend in fairy fashion, but only because they didn't _last_ long enough.

More than one fairy had tried to preserve dew on the petals of a gown or tunic. Water wobbled and soaked in and evaporated. It was hard to keep it 'just so', even with magic, especially if the one wearing the clothes wanted to move at all.

Glass or crystal replicas made fine jewellery, but large glass bubbles weren't the most durable of embellishments, and solid glass or crystal was heavy, so beadwork could only imitate dewdrops on a miniature scale.

"Everyone's going to want to know – how did you _do_ this?"

"Oh, I didn't." Griselda patted Dawn's shoulder. "Resin working is a closely guarded trade secret. I wouldn't know where to begin beyond knowing some trees make better resin then others, and I barely know which ones."

"Resin – like amber?" Sunny asked, working through the crowd and catching up with Dawn.

"Yes and no. These aren't nearly as old as that." Griselda tapped a dewdrop. It didn't shiver like water would, but with the way the light caught in it, one had to be close to tell. "Some of the guild offered to fancy up this dress for me, see if there might be a market for their work this side of the border."

"Definitely!" said Dawn.

"That's good. They do good work, but I honestly felt a little silly; wearing dewdrops in autumn. They're really more of a spring look."


End file.
